Wellness Circle: A step towards bringing diversity in daily diet
If your body’s not right, the rest of your day will go all wrong. Take care of yourself — V.L. Allineare
Wellness circle promotes a healthy lifestyle. The word ‘wellness’ is a self-directed and evolving process of achieving a fullest potential to lead a healthy life. Our objective is to reduce the prevalence of anemia through the consumption of iron rich foods in order to fulfill the iron requirement of the body.
According to “An analysis of Societal Determinant of Anemia among Adolescent Girls in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan” conducted in 2020 about 41.0% of the women aging between 10 and 58 years are anemic. People are habitual of consuming a similar type of diet particularly animal source food and vegetables with stable food which results in poor nutrition, the major cause of anemia. Therefore, it is important to add nutrient dense foods by bringing a diversity in daily diet.
Advancement
We worked on the following goals
1. Promotion of Wellness circle
The data collection through an online survey helps us to comprehend the understanding of people about anemia. Most of the people knew about anemia but were not aware of the prevention methods for the disease. The next step was the promotion of the wellness circle through social media platforms. We posted an introductory video about anemia and the list of iron rich foods on Facebook and Instagram page. Furthermore, we forwarded the videos in WhatsApp groups among the family and friends.
2. Awareness about anemia through webinars
The webinar was conducted through zoom. Laiba Sher Bandesha, Nutritionist, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad explained about the definition, types, reasons and symptoms of anemia. Moreover, she described a weekly diet plan consisting of a diverse range of nutrient rich foods to boost up the level of iron in the body. Laiba particularly emphasized the investment in health by eating a good diet, drinking plenty of water and consulting the doctors regularly. The webinar went well and the major takeaway was healthy eating.
3. Distribution of diet plans
A diet plan having a handful of iron rich foods in right proportions was distributed through social media platforms among friends and family.
Challenges
- Changing the mindset of people
People were not willing to fill the survey forms. They were considering it a form related to data collection for corona vaccine. So, we had to inform them about the anemia. It was difficult to convince them.
2. Conduction of seminars
We decided to conduct a seminar in Government Postgraduate College, Faisalabad. Professor Imran Khan, Government Postgraduate College, Faisalabad was invited to the seminar. Unfortunately, we did not get permission to address a gathering because of the Covid-19 situation.
Outcomes
1. We were able to address the questions related to the causes and prevention of anemia. We particularly give a guideline to treat chronic diseases simultaneously with anemia i.e. high uric acid level with anemia by following a healthy diet.
2. We successfully distributed a diet plan consisting of vitamin and iron rich foods in the right proportion.
Impact
We had an impact on university students by highlighting the nutrient rich foods in the right quantities to invest in their health through the consumption of vegetables and fruits. We also advised them to reduce the intake of foods with little dietary fiber and proteins.
Continuity
Wellness Circle is active on Facebook and Instagram to address the queries regarding anemia. We will continue to post informative videos and diet plans for the viewers on our social media platforms. We are also regularly sharing the information through WhatsApp to spread the message of Wellness Circle among the maximum number of people.
Those who think they have no time for healthy eating, will soon have to find time for illness — Edward Stanley.
